'This Week' Transcript: Karl Rove and David Plouffe

March 21, 2010

Page 7 of 16

KARL: Now, Congressman Arcuri is a Democrat who has said he is
going to vote no. Isn't it a little bit kamikaze for your allies to be
going out and targeting Democrats who are going to face very tough races
in the midterms?

PLOUFFE: Listen, people feel very strongly about this issue. And
we sadly are going to have to do this alone as a Democratic Party, but
it's our moment to lead. And I do think, in the short term and in the
long term, this is going to be seen most importantly for the country,
but the politics for our party -- because, again, politics are about
comparisons.

And so I think that we are going to -- listen, for a variety of
reasons -- we've got a tough economy. We've run a lot of races, so
we've got a lot to defend. We're going to have a tough election. But I
think our election outcome in 2010 can be a lot better than a lot of the
pundits think by passing health care...

KARL: But is it -- would you ask your union allies to back off and
not to target -- these are the most vulnerable Democrats in the House
right now, and tell them not to be running against them? I mean, you
have already threats to rescind endorsements, to endorse independent
candidates. Is it time for the unions to back off?

PLOUFFE: Well, listen, I think we're trying to get the votes to
pass health insurance reform. And we're not there yet. Obviously,
we've still got the vote to take place, but it looks like we're getting
very close.

I think, once the vote's over, obviously, we're going to go out
there and figure out how to help Democrats win elections, and I think
we're going to have a much better election...

(CROSSTALK)

KARL: Including those that voted no? Are you going to help those
that voted no win the election?

PLOUFFE: Of course we are. A lot of us supported on the Recovery
Act, on the energy bill. They'll have to make their own case to their
constituents and volunteers in their district about why they...

(CROSSTALK)

KARL: So you'd be going up against the unions in some of these races?

PLOUFFE: Listen, I think we -- you know, it's going to depend race
by race, but I think we're committed -- a lot of these people who don't
vote for health care -- by the way, we're getting a majority of the
Democratic caucus in both the House and the Senate for health insurance
reform, as we did for the Recovery Act, as we did (inaudible) and, by
the way, this is a big moment in our country.

Economic calamity, we've got these long-term problems like health
care and energy that will determine our future. The Republican Party
for the most part is not lifting an oar to help row. And I think...

(CROSSTALK)

ROVE: ... that is bunk. That is complete bunk. Republicans have
offered a positive alternative on health care, and you didn't bother to
have one meeting between March 5th of 2009 and February 25th of 2010 to
discuss how the White House could involve some of those Republican ideas
in the bill.

Don't give us that bunk. That is another one of those false
arguments offered by the White House. In fact, you know what? The way
that you have sold this bill to Democrats by threatening them, you
cannot tell me that the White House didn't sanction some of these groups
like MoveOn.org and others to make these kind of threats against Democrats.